Do you ever look at successful people within your profession and wonder how they got there? Do you wish to be like them? Well, most junior employees and graduates do just that. Everyone has that one person who they look up to and wish that they could emulate their success. That’s where career mentoring comes in.
A career mentor is a person who is able and willing to listen to and help you with your career goals, challenges, and fears.
Your mentor needs to be someone who has gone through the same type of steps you are going through today. With our mentoring program you can find them and request their assistance.
To become the best, you will need all the help that you can get. You may want to consider having multiple mentors so that you can tap into a varied wealth of experience.
How beneficial is career mentoring?
You won’t realise how much you need mentoring until you start getting some! Some of the benefits of it include:
- Job recommendations
Talking about your career ambitions with your mentor can help you to assess your options – possibly some you had not previously considered and help you to get the support and guidance you need to get your next promotion. Their outside perspective of your skills and talents could even lead them to encourage you to aim higher that you would have done!
- Source of encouragement and inspiration
The encouragement you get from your family and friends is good, but it doesn’t compare with the advice you would get from someone who has experienced the same problems as you. A mentor can provide a sounding board for new ideas, encourage you when you’re struggling and provide inspiration for a new way of thinking.
- Mentors educate you
It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job. You will always need someone to give you an outside perspective. When you are given a tough assignment and need some external input, your mentor can be there for you. When you are doing well at work, your mentor will be there to remind you to keep your feet on the ground. They understand these situations too well and that’s invaluable to your career.
Mentors can undoubtedly play a crucial role in professional development. They can help you make better decisions, mainly because you can ask them hard questions and know that you’re getting honest feedback that’s based on experience.
Mentors can challenge your thinking and serve as great professional contacts, introducing you to others who could help you and open up business opportunities that you may not otherwise find.
Career development requires deliberate and purposeful engagement with others who know how to achieve success, because they have themselves both succeeded and failed.
Most successful people, regardless of what industry they’re in, how old they are, or where they came from, recognise the impact of those who were willing to teach them and believe in them.
So a mentor can have a tremendous impact in helping to guide your professional growth, but in order to make the most out of a mentor relationship, you must be upfront about your intentions and deliberate in your approach. The payoff is well worth the effort.
True mentors expect nothing from you. However, if someone shows a willingness to help you, ensure you respect their time—such as by preparing and sending questions in advance—and show your appreciation. Don’t take your mentor for granted.